Somber Monday

Friday's awful events gave the start of the weekend an expectedly icky feeling. The news and all social media outlets were consumed with updates about the shooting, the victims, and everything in between. I have such mixed feelings about the way these events are broadcasted so heavily and widely. I understand the need to report the facts, but I'm not sure if the way these events become so exposed is the right way to inform. A friend on Facebook put it into words pretty well - 'That by exposing and chronicaling every detail (who the shooter was, what his mental state was, what the attack was like) that at best we become desensitized, and at worst, we create heroes out of these monsters. It's worth thinking about as we ask ourselves why, since Columbine, these atrocities have only become more prevalent.'

So 3 days later, what happened in Newtown is finally setting in. And, as I'm sure it does to most everyone, it leaves me feeling sad, confused, and asking why??

It's difficult to go back to living life 'normally' after something like this happens. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for someone who was involved first hand and who lost a loved one. Because there is no way to find meaning from something like this. There is no way to rationalize what happened and see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is no silver lining, or lesson to be learned. In this case, time will not easily heal. And moving on from something so tragic is seemingly impossible, even for someone who did not lose someone close to them.

So today is somber, to say the least. All of my thoughts are still consumed with the families, and teachers, and community of Sandy Hook.

Our weekend was full of a birthday party, some Christmas shopping, walks in the rain, a Zoosk holiday party, lots of talking, thinking, and planning. I hope everyone had a nice weekend.